I’m not so sure about this,” he growled, though somehow his voice still managed to retain its singsong quality. Rasping yet ready to break out in song. Joe Cocker meets Jared Leto. Super sexy.

“I am sure.” She spoke up so that he would hear her. “If you’re fully dressed, get your ass out here, Bright Eyes, and let me take a look.” If he looked half as good in this as he had in the last five ensembles, she was in for a treat.

“It’s scratchy.”

Like she hadn’t heard that one coming out of his lips today already. “Get out here!” she yelled.

“It’s …” He huffed out a rumbling breath. Even that had a melodic quality to it. “I don’t know. I don’t think I like it.”

“You haven’t liked anything yet, so you need to let me be the judge of that.”

“You’re sure, you’re sure?” He sounded hesitant. That, and … irritated.

“For the hundredth time, I’m the expert. It’s what you’re paying me for. Now, let me do my job and get your …” Sexy! Hot! Yummy! Unfortunately, crazy! “ass out here.”

The curtain opened, the rings scraping on the pole. Her mouth dropped open. It was the best outfit yet. “Wow!” She put a hand over her lips for a few seconds. “You look great.” Understatement of the year. He looked edible.

He looked at her like she’d lost her mind, looking down at himself. At those jeans. They actually made it to below his ankles and hugged his thighs in such a way that made her mouth just a tad dry. The sweater. Man, that sweater. Made from a light gray, angora wool, it accentuated his shoulders, his chest. Best of all, those biceps. Hubba freaking hubba!

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He rubbed a hand down the front of his chest. Forget dry mouth, it was suddenly wet with drool. “It looks terrible doesn’t it?” He narrowed his eyes and began to pull the sweater off.

Vicky caught a glimpse of his abs. His rock hard, magnificent abs. For a second, she was tempted to let him take the sweater off so she could ogle him … again.

“Stop! Leave it on. It looks amazing.”

His hand stilled.

“I promise, you look perfect. This look is exactly what I had in mind.”

He pulled the sweater back into place. “You’re sure?” He cocked a brow in her direction, not convinced.

“Very sure.” Her eyes drifted down. Oh … nope. That wouldn’t do. He didn't have bad feet, considering their size. They were well put together and perfectly tanned, despite the fact that it was mid-winter. "We just need to find a giant-size shoe to fit your huge feet. I know a footwear store that, just like this one, specializes in out of the ordinary sizes."

“I don’t like those tube shoes.” He shook his head.

“Tube shoes?” She frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of those.”

“You know, the ones that cover the whole foot. They are tight and uncomfortable. At least, that’s what Soren said when he tied them onto his foot.”

“Who is Soren?”

“One of my kind. He is one of the other males who came on this journey to find out about human females.”

“So, what you’re saying is that there are more of you running around?”

Talon nodded. “Yes, there are four of us.”

"Okay." Lord help this city if there were four of these Neanderthal types on the loose. Clueless wonders! Sweet but … sheesh, so very naïve. "Let's go and pay for these." Then again, Soren could also be a figment of his imagination. She pointed at the pile of clothing on the chair next to her. "You can leave those on." She nodded towards what he was wearing. "We're buying some shoes ‒ yes, they will cover your whole foot ‒ and then we're going on our first outing." She glanced at her watch. "It's lunchtime, so we can grab some food and people watch. You will be amazed at how much you learn from a little bit of observation."

“I need to do more than watch. I need to meet females. Interact with them.”

Vicky smiled at the poor guy. “You are nowhere near ready for actual interaction yet … yet being the operative word.” She quickly added the last when she saw him prepare to argue.

He squared his massive shoulders. “Fine, but we can’t fool around too long, I need to learn the ways of human females. I don’t have very long.”

“Hold up right there.” She put a hand up. “You need to stop referring to us as human. From here on out you are banned from saying the word ‘human’.”

“Why? You are a human and I am not. There are differences. Major differences.”

Yeah, right! “Still. Drop the whole talk of humans, and while we’re on it, say woman, not female and man, not male. Can you do that?”

“Why? It’s stupid.” That beautiful voice of his turned a tad smoky and a lot sexy. “You are a female and I am a male.” He shrugged. “But you are the expert, and if you insist.”

“That’s not how we talk. I don’t want you to stand out as being different. You need to blend in, act more human.”

“You just said human. You aren’t permitted to say that word.”

“No, you’re not permitted to say that word. I can say whatever I want. Now, say woman.”

“Woman.” He pushed a breath out through his nose.

“Good. That wasn’t so difficult was it?”

He shook his head. “I am willing to do what it takes to get this task done. If changing the way I dress and speak helps me reach my objective then so be it.”

“Glad to hear it.”

* * *

The female, looked down at him, a smile on her lips. “And you, Sir, have you seen anything that piques your interest?”

“Yes, I see women.” He felt proud that he had said the right thing. “There are lots of them here.” He looked around the room. “I am very interested in women.”

When he looked back at her, her eyes had widened, and her mouth had flopped open. “Um …” She blinked a few times. “I meant on the menu, Sir.” She looked pointedly at the leather-bound book on the table in front of him. He really needed to learn to read. That was one of the first points he would bring up in the meetings with his people. If they were to mingle with humans, they needed to be literate. “Would you like anything to eat from the menu?” Another nod in the direction of the book. Her smile, not nearly as genuine as it had been a few moments ago.

“Meat.” He was hungry. Very hungry. Trying on tight, scratchy clothing would do that to a male. As would wearing tube shoes. Vicky called them boots. He called them torture devices. They currently strangled his feet.

“Hmmm …” Vicky flipped through the menu, her eyes darting from left to right and up and down. “What Talon means is that he would like the New York Strip, please.”

“I want meat.”

Vicky threw him an angry look. He knew that kind of look well. Had been on the receiving end of a look like that on more than one occasion when he was still mated. It was a look that was designed to put him in his place and shut him up. He glared back instead of answering like he wanted to.

“The New York Strip is steak … um, meat.” Vicky smiled at him. It didn’t reach her eyes, which were still telling him to keep his mouth closed. She turned back to the other fem— woman. “He’ll have the steak with the baby potatoes and roasted medley of vegetables.”

“No potatoes.” He shook his head. “Or vegetables. Just the meat.”

“Okay then.” The female scribbled something down.

“How would you like that done?” She looked back at him, brows raised.

“Bloody.” How else?

If her eyes were wide before, they were positively enormous now. She looked confused. Possibly shocked as well. Talon couldn’t understand why that would be.

“Rare,” Vicky almost yelled. “Sorry, he’s not from around here.”

“Oh.” The female visibly relaxed. “Where are you from?”

“Switzerland,” Vicky blurted. “A small town in the mountains.”

“That’s weird since you don’t have much of an accent. Cool though.” She smiled.

“His mother is from the US.”

The female nodded. “Makes sense then. Welcome. How long are you visiting?”

“Six weeks,” Talon said. Finally, a question he could actually answer.

“Hope you enjoy your stay.” Her smile widened. “Let me go and submit your order. I’m sure you’re hungry.” She blinked strangely with one eye. Perhaps she had something in it.

“Yes, I’m so hungry I could eat a whole horse.” Talon licked his lips.

The female giggled and walked away, shaking her head.

“You’re serious, aren’t you? You could literally eat a whole horse. Well, not a whole horse but you know what I mean? You would eat horse meat?”

“I was being serious, yes. I could eat a whole horse, if I were in my animal form.” Why would he say something and not mean it? “Horse is very delicious. Have you ever tried it?”

She made a face of disgust and a noise of disbelief. “Don’t ever talk about eating animals like that. Especially horses.”

“Why not? We do eat them. Don’t humans eat horses?”

“Some do. Nobody I know personally.” She grimaced in disgust. Like she was feeling sick to her stomach, just like he had felt when she served him eggs.

“But you eat meat, so you do eat animals?”

“We do, but we don’t talk about it.”

“That’s stupid.”

She looked up at the ceiling and gave a half-nod before looking him in the eyes. “Although you have a point; you talking about eating horses and wanting your steak bloody, is the same as me talking about eating eggs.”

He clenched his teeth. “It’s not the same.”

“It has the same effect though.”

“I understand.” Well, sort of. Humans were very strange creatures.

“Okay, the good news is that we’re going to get there in the end, but the bad news is that we’ve still got a long way to go. What did I tell you? The outfit is working. A couple of the women in here checked you out when we walked in. By checked you out, I mean that they looked at you with interest. That they are possibly attracted to you,” she added.

“You think so?”

“Definitely.”

“But I haven’t even shown my muscles, or my strength. Females like to see a male in action before allowing him to mount her.”

“Just because they are checking you out doesn’t mean they want … sex.”

“Good.” They would be disappointed. “I still don’t understand how they would show interest without seeing my muscles … my strength.” He flexed a bicep.

Vicky kept her eyes on his. “It’s true that women like a man with a good physique but that’s just the start of it. He needs to be sensitive without being a pushover. He needs to be intelligent without being a know-it-all. And please don’t ever use the word ‘mount’ ever again.”

“Why not?” Why were they even talking about this again? It was like they didn’t have any other subject matter.

“We don’t say mount, we say sex or making love or fucking.” She said the last word softly. Suddenly his pants felt even tighter. The room too hot.

“Why do you have so many words for the same thing?” He took a sip of his water, hoping it would help cool him down.

"They're not really the same thing. I mean," her cheeks turned pink, "they are technically the same thing, but they're not. Sex or intercourse is the most generic way of describing the act. Now making love and fucking. Totally not the same the same thing. People who love each other and have a real relationship, make love. People who just want to get it on for the fun of it with no romantic ties, fuck. One happens because of love and the other just for pleasure."

His balls felt scratchy. He hated these human clothes. Talon tugged on the collar of the sweater. ‘Sweater’ was a good term for the garment. It was hot and made him feel uncomfortable. “It’s easier just to say mount!” he snapped. “Mounting is mounting.” All these different words for things. It made his head spin.

Either she was oblivious to his irritation, or she plain ignored it. Vicky smiled. "We'll have to agree to disagree on that one as well," she sighed. "You need to say sex. If you say mount it sounds strange. Just like when you say male or female and when you keep referring to people as human and yourself as not human. It sounds weird.”

“I speak how I speak but, if it will help, I will say things the human way … your way,” he quickly said, realizing his error too late. “I would like to learn how to read.”

"That's an admirable request, and I admire your tenacity, but I don't think learning how to read is a skill you can pick up easily. Certainly not in less than six weeks."

“Why not?”

"Kids go to school for years to learn their ABCs." She took a sip of her drink, pursing her lips around a long, thin tube. It was hollow. Her lips were plump and very pink. She sucked up some of the liquid, and he watched as the long, milky-white column of her throat worked.

“I’m not a kid.” Irritation rose up in him. “I will learn more quickly. I am already learning. Wait, you will see.”

“Okay, fine. There are apps for everything. We’ll pick up an iPad and get you started.”

“Thank you,” he said, not really sure what an iPad was but as long as it helped him to learn, he was fine with it.

“Sure thing. Once we’re done with lunch, we need to get back to the office so that Maggie can help you book into a new hotel.”

Just then, the female returned with their lunch. She set the food down in front of them. “Enjoy,” she said in a sing-song voice as she walked away.

“We’re going to people watch while we’re here.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t make it obvious but we can watch that couple who just arrived at the table next to us. If you ask me, they look like they’re here on a date. We can observe their interactions.”

He picked up his meat and tore off a strip. Not quite as bloody as he liked it, but still good. “What is a date?” he asked after swallowing.

“You aren’t eating that with your hands, are you?”

He wasn’t sure how to answer. Since the meat was between his fingers, he didn’t think he needed to.

She sighed. “Have you ever used a knife and fork before?”

Talon shook his head.

"Put the steak down, and I'll teach you. Then I'll explain what a date is."

He nodded, placing the meat back down on the plate and licking his fingers. It seemed he had a lot to learn. Talon knew that this was going to be challenging, he hadn’t realized how challenging though. Good thing he was up for it.